Joe Mixon: I made a bad decision, I can’t take it back

Posted by Michael David Smith on February 27, 2017, 8:52 AM EST

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Former Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon won’t be at the Scouting Combine this week. The NFL didn’t invite him because of the infamous incident in which he punched a woman, seriously injuring her. But Mixon is hoping to get a chance to tell NFL teams he has learned from the ugly assault.

Mixon said this morning on PFT Live that he has grown as a person and hopes NFL teams will believe that.

“I made a bad decision,” Mixon said. “Ever since that night I have to live with it. I’ve got to re-live it every day. You can never forget something like that. It still haunts me to this day, but it’s what you do from that point on. You can’t take it back. I can replay it in my head a thousand times, and if I could take it back I would, but I can’t.”

Mixon said he still believes he can be a good role model and wants to earn the privilege of playing in the NFL.

“I’m trying to educate youth throughout the community and having them learn from my mistakes,” Mixon said.

No one doubts that Mixon is good enough to play in the NFL, but there are some doubts about whether any owners will want the video of Mixon knocking a woman to the ground playing on the local news, which will happen in any city where the team drafts Mixon. He’s hoping that by speaking publicly now, he can convince a team that drafting him won’t be a public relations nightmare.

You just made a bad decision? Choosing double-chocolate cake when you’re drinking beer is a bad decision – punching a woman to the ground is something more. And role model? – dude, nowhere in your comments do you even include an actual apology, you just make it all about yourself!

The problem is the fact that he acted like he had done nothing wrong and then when the video was made public then he started with the tears. But around the time of the incident he was in no way as apologetic. And for anyone saying he deserves a second chance how about way after he broke this girls face he also had a problem with a parking attendant and ripped up the ticket and threw it right in the parking attendants face. That doesn’t sound to me like someone who is learning from their mistakes. This kid is a ticking time bomb and needs to see a mental health professional not just get thrown in the NFL. Everyone is going to say they learned from their mistakes when their is that much money on the line.

Former Michigan and current Seattle DE Frank Clark is the last player who was drafted relatively high with some baggage of this nature. So far, Clark has justified the selection and stayed out of trouble.

Given all the issues the Seahawks had with RBs this past season, wouldn’t be surprised if Seattle took Mixon at either No. 58 or 90 overall.

Interested in all those who comment who are completely unaware of the actual facts of the incident. At least have a clue about the facts and timeline of thee story. Not excusing his behavior, but in all honesty, when I was 18 and if a young woman had pushed and slapped me like the lady did Mixon, I can’t say I wouldn’t have popped her. What Mixon did was violent, but the young woman also has to take some responsibility. Cause and effect.

You (by the nature of your own comments) are showing your good parenting or your bad parenting. There is never, ever an excuse for hitting a woman. Never. If you were raised by a real man in a culture of real men, you get it. Otherwise, you never will. Do lots of men do it? Of course, but see the previous 4 statements. NEVER.

Did you listen to the entire interview? Are you aware of Mixon’s previous apologies? Besides, he doesn’t owe you a personal apology, or anything else.
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You’ve painted a clear ugly picture of yourself, buddy. I don’t know who I respect least, you or Mixon.

“I made a bad decision,” Mixon said. “Ever since that night I have to live with it. I’ve got to re-live it every day. You can never forget something like that. It still haunts me to this day, but it’s what you do from that point on. You can’t take it back. I can replay it in my head a thousand times, and if I could take it back I would, but I can’t.”

Eating a whole box of doughnuts is a bad decision. What this guy did is a reprehensible decision. The rest of of the language he uses sounds more like something that happened to him instead of something he did. He just seems like he regrets the consequences of his actions a hell of a lot more than he regrets the action itself.

Mixon wants others to learn from his “mistake” but all he does is blame the victim. Is that what he really wants people to learn? He has people like Brent Musberger and Ross Tucker now carrying his water for him. This is the “second chance” camp. They don’t get it.

Ravens, Giants, and Cowboys condone domestic violence. They would even sign Hernandez if given the opportunity. Especially the Ravens, who built a statue honoring a killer.

Ravens knew all about the Rice video. Biscotti and Goodell even saw the Rice video, but chose to ignore it and go easy on Ray. When the public saw the video, they changed their tune.

Giants long knew of Josh Brown’s physical and mental abuse heaped upon his wife and step sons. Mara had Goodell suspend Brown only one game until the mandatory six. Then when the public found out Mara and Goodell knew all about Brown’s history, they changed their tune.

Dallas had already seen the pictures and transcript from Greg Hardy’s 1st trial, but didn’t care. He justified the signing by claiming that the conviction was thrown out during the appeal. Didn’t matter to Jerry that Hardy paid the victim to disappear.

“One mistake shouldn’t affect your life” is one of the dumbest statements that I have ever heard. OF COURSE one decision can ruin your life !!! Tell that to all of the guys in prison who just pulled a trigger, decided that they weren’t too drunk to drive, she won’t get pregnant, etc.
It is NEVER OK to hit a woman –NEVER. He should never play in the NFL and like Ray Rice should be a lesson to everyone.

Good thing us non-Pro-athletes are angels. I’d hate for a future employer to dwell on something we did three years ago and paid for. I’m figuring that she probably won’t strike a man no matter what he’s saying, and he probably won’t hit a woman no matter if she’s punching him. Time moves on

If you harass a woman in an attempt to get her to sleep with you, she has the right to push you. If she also spits at you, you may the right to push back, you can punch her in the face if she pulls a knife or gun on you.

just watched the video. he really clocked her. to me there was no way she deserved this. none at all. every killer who is caught says the same thing. “if i could take it back i would.” he hit her and then ran. not a spur of the moment thing.

I guess everyone here is perfect….He mad a mistake and a bad decision. He is doing everything he can to help others, but some people just won’t forgive….and that is our country. Of course everything was his fault and the girl had nothing to do with any of this going on.

Mixon did a terrible, unforgivable thing. When I was about 10-12 years old I realized that the NFL was not the place to calibrate my moral compass. They are not role models. I turn to the NFL for one thing and one thing only, entertainment. If the Criminal Justice System says that Mixon has paid his debt, than he should be able to work in the NFL unless they have policy that prevents it.

Good thing us non-Pro-athletes are angels. I’d hate for a future employer to dwell on something we did three years ago and paid for. I’m figuring that she probably won’t strike a man no matter what he’s saying, and he probably won’t hit a woman no matter if she’s punching him. Time moves on
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Many companies won’t touch people with criminal records. Assault, theft, DUI, drugs, etc, are all fireable offenses in many fields. Athletes get many more chances than the rest of us. If you saw the video, you can see how easy it was for him to decide to knock that girl out. It probably wasn’t his first time and it surely won’t be his last.

in addition to signing Greg Hardy, Dallas also drafted Ezekiel Elliott. Two separate incidents involving the same woman….everybody seems to forget that. why? because he was an awesome running back in his rookie season? Just because he wasn’t (hasn’t?) been charged criminally does not mean it didn’t happen. women choose to not cooperate/pursue charges ALL the time against their abusers. DV is a vicious and ugly cycle and whether you can understand why victims don’t seek help or pursue charges in no way negates the culpability of the abuser. I am a DV survivor so I have EVERY right to make these statements.

cardinealsfan20 says:
Feb 27, 2017 9:09 AM
One mistake should not define any person’s life, young or old, football player or anyone else.
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Would you say the same about a child molester? Or if that was a family member he laid out with that punch?

You are made up of your decisions in life and you don’t get do overs. He will live with that the rest of his life and the slightest misstep towards a woman again and he will pay and it might be by an angry father or brother vs uncle Roger.

When I am bored at work, nothing beats coming here and reading some of the comical comments people leave. Mixon does something bad, not only was his punished by law he was also kicked out of school for a year. He did something bad and he has been punished but apparently that is never enough for some.

Some people will say, Mixon shouldn’t be in the NFL, and to those people I ask why? I am sure the response will be something idiotic. I don’t know Mixon but a huge majority of players good enough to go from college to the pros have probably been playing football since they were really young. So Mixon has been playing football for over 12 years and people want to deny him the right to work. Most people only train for their profession for 4 years while they are in college. So does that mean if me an IT guy gets in trouble, I should no longer work in field or a Doctor in their field. The lack of common sense here is baffling. If Mixon cheat his profession then I can understand the outrage but that’s not the case since we let people who cheap the game back in but have an issue with people who haven’t.

Read my comments properly, I am not suggesting Mixon shouldn’t be punished for what he did and he has but what I have a problem with is a system in this country when punishment is never enough, we have to destroy the individual also and take away their ability to make a living.

Good thing us non-Pro-athletes are angels. I’d hate for a future employer to dwell on something we did three years ago and paid for. I’m figuring that she probably won’t strike a man no matter what he’s saying, and he probably won’t hit a woman no matter if she’s punching him. Time moves on
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And paid for? Are you serious? What a serious payment Stoops made him sit out on scholarship for a year – similar to a redshirt year. The university even wanted to keep the video from coming out (as did he). None of us are angels, but very few of us beat women and even fewer punch them to the point of knocking them out. If you think a future employer saw a video of you punching a woman and knocking her out cold would still offer you a job, you are one clueless individual.

I watched the video and I urge anyone who hasn’t seen it to watch it. Yeah, the girl pushed him after he said something to the young guy or the guy seated at the table, but there’s no way he should have punched her as he did.
I’ve watched boxing all my life and I’ve seen plenty of one punch knockouts, and this ranks right there with the best of them.
Anyone who sees this and still defends this punk is wrong. He’s lucky he didn’t kill her.

Punching a woman in the face isn’t a just “bad decision”, it’s a reflection of you being a terrible/flawed human at your core. Just the thought of punching a woman in the face is unfathomable for “normal” men.

BAM! It’s all fixed now with this statement. It amazes me how people try to defend him or are quick to forgive his actions lmao. We all make mistakes but not every “mistake” needs to be forgiven or forgotten.

gorilladunk says: Feb 27, 2017 9:32 AM
Interested in all those who comment who are completely unaware of the actual facts of the incident. At least have a clue about the facts and timeline of thee story. Not excusing his behavior, but in all honesty, when I was 18 and if a young woman had pushed and slapped me like the lady did Mixon, I can’t say I wouldn’t have popped her.
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Uh, most of us have read up on the incident and the non-apologies afterwards and ARE completely aware of the actual facts of the incident. No, most of us would not have hauled off and punched the woman back. You make it sound as if Mixon was merely kicking back and innocently was hit by the woman. You’re excusing a violent act. I’ve heard many arguments by you “men’s rights activists who are negatively reacting stories about women. Those arguments are despicable.

The prosecutor did not charge him with felony assault because the ‘first aggressor’ was the woman and the city would have lost the case. They went with a lessor misdemeanor charge of causing bodily injury because it was not necessary to show he struck the first blow or had intent. Had he hit a man it is unlikely he would have been charged with anything.

You can make a strong argument that the only reason he is sorry is because now it’s costing him money.

I’m hardly perfect but I was once punched in the face by a girl in a bar (she was so drunk she thought I was her boyfriend, a case of mistaken identity) and I merely walked away. Where is his restraint?

Would this total scumbag that will now say and do anything to get on an NFL roster/payroll have done the same to a black girl or someone his own size or bigger ? The NFL needs nothing to do with trash like this, there are plenty of excellent running backs just as good or better than him that deserve to play in the NFL

Would this total scumbag, who will now say and do anything to get on an NFL roster/payroll have done the same to a black girl ? Total trash of a human being. Banned from the NFL for life, there are plenty of excellent running backs just as good or better than this waste of a human being.

He was told to take a hike and didn’t like it, his ego couldn’t handle it.So he kept badgering this woman. He then started insulting her and her friends. She finally had enough slapped him. He crushes her face. And Mixon thinks its all good if he says he is sorry. I hear a lot about redemption here. He can find that without ever playing another down of football. I do not know how anyone watching this video defends this guy.

@Joetoronto says – “You’ve painted a clear ugly picture of yourself, buddy.” -and – “You people defending him are scum just like him.”

No sane person is defending the act. Sane, logical people are saying that Mixon’s case has been handled by the justice system, and he deserves the same chance as any other person whose actions have been similarly adjudicated.

If you can’t stop yourself from viciously punching a woman, I have a hard time believing you will ever feel remorse for it nor do I believe you can control yourself enough to be given millions of dollars. Mixon is a garbage human being. I hope he figures it all out but I don’t think he has any business in a professional football program..

So, where do you draw the line? A baseball bat? A gun? If she hit him with a dish from the table and fractured his skull is he allowed to defend himself? The law has a different standard. Any intentional, unwanted contact with another person with the intent of causing harm is battery. The law also makes no distinction whether the parties are men or women or both. Only, liberal cultural values do that. The cultural norm is harmful because it fails to educate women to the perils of using force. Many ladies think it is okay to push or slap a man which almost always leads to an escalation of violence.

Lets see. A supremely gifted RB from Oklahoma with a history of domestic violence. The only other ingredient you need is a fan base that is mostly happy with a guy like that as long as he helps their football team. Perfect timing for the Vikings, and a much younger and cheaper option of what they have now.

pauldeba says:
Feb 27, 2017 10:22 AM
If you harass a woman in an attempt to get her to sleep with you, she has the right to push you. If she also spits at you, you may the right to push back, you can punch her in the face if she pulls a knife or gun on you.

I don’t think very many teams want this guy

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Not defending him because what he did was wrong. But you’re clueless if you think it was about sex, Mixon was in a argument with her male friend when she got up and hit him.

This continues to be labeled as “domestic violence”, which it clearly is not. Domestic violence is assaulting a family member, spouse or loved one you have a relationship with. This was a stranger in a public place, who struck Mixon first, before she was assaulted. Ugly, of course, but not domestic violence.

richndc says:
Feb 27, 2017 9:33 AM
You (by the nature of your own comments) are showing your good parenting or your bad parenting. There is never, ever an excuse for hitting a woman. Never. If you were raised by a real man in a culture of real men, you get it. Otherwise, you never will. Do lots of men do it? Of course, but see the previous 4 statements. NEVER.
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Annnndd we just got a post from the 1950s. Meanwhile back in 2017, people are considered equal. If a person slaps and spits on another, don’t complain when you get laid out.

Questions I ask Joe if I’m an NFL decision maker: how many times have you punched a girl before this? How many times after?

I’m pretty surprised that question wasn’t asked. Go watch that video and tell me if that’s your daughter, sister, friend, you’re ok with your organization drafting this guy. He didn’t push her, he didn’t kind of jab her to keep her away from him, he trucked her face into a freaking table on her way to the ground. Worse than Ray Rice.

Annnndd we just got a post from the 1950s. Meanwhile back in 2017, people are considered equal. If a person slaps and spits on another, don’t complain when you get laid out.

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I was walking by an Elementary School the other day, and a 2nd grader spit on me. So of course I laid him out. He went to the hospital and I’m getting sued, but he had it coming right? I mean it’s 2017, I should be able to break somebody’s face if they spit on me regardless of the situation.

I’m pretty sure anybody defending Mixon is committing or has committed domestic violence and is trying to excuse their behavior.

Let’s see. Tom Cable, OL coach of the Seahawks is still working in the NFL after punching Randy Hansen and breaking his jaw. He was also accused of violence against two ex-wives. Why is the liberal, cultural police not up in arms about that? Cable was 45 at the time. Cable is still making a fine living in the NFL. But an 18 year old that makes a similar mistake is given a life sentence. Then there are the cases of Steve Sarkisian, Michael Vick and Jerramy Stevens, to name just a few who all went on to make a lot of money in the NFL after personal failings. It seems Joe Mixon is getting a raw deal.

In a no-weapon altercation, if you are a man and a woman hits you, you WALK AWAY.

I wonder if the NFL could adopt a one-year signing ban for people who have committed a crime but completed their punishment (jail, parole, etc.) with no problems. For one year after sentencing, you can’t be drafted or signed and can’t play in the NFL or make any money from the NFL. If the next Combine comes up and your nose has been clean, you can reapply. Some version of that should be workable.

cardinealsfan20 says:
One mistake should not define any person’s life, young or old, football player or anyone else.
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First, adding 2+2 on your math test and coming up with 5 is a “mistake.” What this clown made was a vile CHOICE, not a “mistake.” Second, I think you fail to understand the difference between punishment for one’s actions, and the consequences of them. They’re two different things. One usually (but not always) ends at some point. The other can follow you for the rest of your life, and justifiably so.

Gentlemen, have any of you dated a woman that comes from a family history of abuse? If so, you know they will either be ready and willing to fight to prove to themselves that what happened to (fill in the blank), won’t happen to them.

Some do instigate or try to instigate physical confrontations. If you find yourself in that type of situation…end the relationship…leave and don’t look back.

@nhpats says – “of course single decisions or mistakes can define one’s life. Let’s say I make a decision to drive drunk and kill your wife or daughter….are you OK with me getting a “do over”?

Your attempted comparison is a non-sequitur. Different situations lead to harsher degrees of responsibility. Even in the situation you posit, a vehicular homicide convict would not receive a life sentence, and eventually be released with at least a chance to lead a productive life.

Also, attempts to personalize comparisons are invalid. An individual may not be in favor of the a person who harmed a loved one getting a “do over”. However, we live in a civilized society where revenge is not a basis for justice.

@thisoneguy1 – Why is it “justifiable” for the consequences of Mixon’s one mistaken choice to follow him the rest of his life? He had no history of assaulting females. No indication that he has since continued to assault males or females. How is it “justifiable” that 40 years later Mixon should be defined by this single act?

cardinealsfan20 says:
Feb 27, 2017 4:26 PM
@nhpats says – “of course single decisions or mistakes can define one’s life. Let’s say I make a decision to drive drunk and kill your wife or daughter….are you OK with me getting a “do over”?

Your attempted comparison is a non-sequitur. Different situations lead to harsher degrees of responsibility. Even in the situation you posit, a vehicular homicide convict would not receive a life sentence, and eventually be released with at least a chance to lead a productive life.

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Fair enough. Mixon should be given the same chance to live a productive life as Ray Rice. He can do whatever he wants…..as long as it does not include playing in the NFL. No revenge…..merely justifiable consequences for his actions.

cardinealsfan20 says:
@thisoneguy1 – Why is it “justifiable” for the consequences of Mixon’s one mistaken choice to follow him the rest of his life?
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Again, you clearly are unable to differentiate between punishment and consequences. Mixon has been punished. He won’t get to go to the Combine, but you and I both know he will eventually sign with somebody. That will be his second chance. What he does with it is up to him. As for the consequences, I put no specifics on the “justifiable” portion of that. I did not say he should be banned, or never work again. But what he did was a vile act that deeply offended a lot of people, and the stigma of the choice HE MADE will follow him forever. That stigma and the way he will forever be viewed is a consequence of HIS actions.

@nhpats – What is sacred about playing in the NFL? It’s a profession, just like a great majority of other occupations or professions. It’s not a requirement that a person be pure of heart or actions prior to joining.

If you punch a women you shouldn’t be able to make millions because you are a horrible human but if you grab a woman’s private then you can be the President of the United States. PFT is the home of the moral police. To the Pat fan who called out rhe Ravens and the Giants that’s not firget they employed a killer. It’s a reasin he was pulled from multiple team’s draft board. He had plenty issues at Florida that the Pats knew about. People If micon had pushed her in the face like she did him and knovked him out then everyone would say good he would deserved that. I’m not feom the school of a man shouldn’t put his hands on a women. I believe no one should put their hands on anyone. If everyone does that tjen we wouldn’t have these incidents. These so called angels make me sick.

If Ray Rice — who by all accounts was a genuinely good guy doing great things in the community before that night in Atlantic City, and has been sincerely contrite thereafter — is basically banned for life from the NFL, it’s hard to fathom how this guy can come right into the league and play.